LT JERIC G FUTALAN PN

NCSC CL-89

Movie Review Nr 7: The Eternal Zero

Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, a United States Army Officer, and historian
claimed that only one in four of US soldiers fired his weapon during WWII. He
further claimed that the lethality of the battlefield would result in inertia that would
overcome a soldier prompting him to hit the ground and refuse to move or shoot. 1
He has earned criticism for said opinion but there is claimed empirical evidence that
supports his statement. The aforesaid is a manifestation of how combat motivation
is perceived as an indispensable factor of war.

Relatedly, the above film is a great exemplification of how combat motivation

was exploited in WWII through the employment of Kamikazes by the Japanese. The
Kamikaze is one of the special attack units of Japan during WWII that follows the
tradition of death in seizing a battle or war objective. Given these the writer will give
insights on its significance and implications in warfare based on the following points:

● Effectiveness and practicality

● Applicability in modern warfare

● Applicability in the PN

Effectiveness and practicality

During the WWII, the Japanese had been known for its special attack units
which include military aviators, submarines, human torpedoes, boats, and divers.
The most renowned and widely employed among these attack units are the
Kamikazes that were used to cripple or destroy large numbers of Allied ships,
particularly aircraft carriers. The practice began in 1944 when the Japanese are

1 King, A. (2013). The Combat Soldier: Infantry Tactics and Cohesion in the Twentieth and Twenty-First
Century Soldiers. Oxford Scholarship Online. Retrieved from https://oxford. universitypressscholarship.
com/view
faced with aerial disparity against the Allied forces following critical defeats,
technological lag, and declining industrial capacity to support the war.

The above practice is anchored in the tradition of death as an option above

humiliation and surrender that is deeply rooted in the Japanese military culture. It
follows loyalty and honor until death as the primary values of the Bushido code. In
terms of its effectiveness, it is estimated that 300 ships were damaged or destroyed
with 15,000 casualties in exchange for 3,800 Kamikaze pilots' lives by the end of
WWII. 2Further, the accuracy of such tactics is believed to be considerably higher
than conventional means. Hence it is undoubtedly an effective option in waging a
losing battle.

Despite the supreme reverence and popularity that the Kamikaze tactics
gained concerning patriotism in war, the writer maintains that it goes against
practicality when employed in a protracted war. The death of the pilot and the loss of
the aircraft is an absolute defeat in terms of airpower as both assets cannot be
replaced in time. Thus, it is a self-deprivation of a belligerent's chance to regain
composure in war by redeploying the pilots and aircraft that survived a prior mission.

Applicability in modern warfare

Aside from the Kamikaze planes, the Japanese also employed manned
torpedoes, suicide crafts, and suicide divers or human mines that all embrace the
tradition of death in the seizure of a battle objective. It can be inferred that this
practice is being employed to increase the accuracy of war implements such as
torpedo and mine which is being constrained by technology. For instance, a
conventional torpedo which is fire-and-forget in nature has a high chance of missing
if used on a mobile target. Additionally, naval mines that are conventionally in place
or drifting can be avoided by the target it is intended to destroy when detected. But
with the use of a suicide attacker, manned torpedoes and human sea mines can be
controlled and directed towards a target thereby increasing its level of accuracy and
effectiveness.

On the other hand, the advent of unmanned aircraft, unmanned underwater

vessels, better homing guidance for torpedoes, improved detonation mechanisms of

2 The Kamikaze Threat (2003). PBS. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/

sea mines brought by technological advancement had eliminated the need for
suicide attackers. The use of suicide attackers had been deemed irrelevant by
technology in the sense that the rate of the inaccuracy of said weapons became
negligible. Hence, the writer deems that the culture of death in the pursuit of a battle
or war objective is already obsolete and irrelevant in modern warfare.

Applicability to the PN

Combat motivation is a human factor that cannot be separated from battle or

war. Compelling a soldier to bravely fight in a perilous battlefield requires an ultimate
motivation. In the case of Japan’s suicidal Special Attack Units, the combat
motivation is deeply entrenched in their culture. Its root is the hereditary military
nobility known as the Samurai that is in practice since the medieval and early
modern Japan until its abolition in the 19 th century. The Samurai follows the Bushido
code which is a set of honor and ideals that guides the latter’s ways of life such as
strict adherence to martial virtues, apathy to pain, and unwavering loyalty. 3 Similarly,
the Europeans follow the concept of Chivalry which a medieval knightly system of
religious, moral, and social code.4 The aforesaid are inalienable and unparalleled
system or culture of combat motivations that had been honed by time. Hence,
countries that intend to build a credible military may require similar combat
motivations among its soldiers. Otherwise, soldiery is nothing but a product of
conscription that has been widely practiced since the early times.

Considering the nature of PN personnel concerning combat motivation,

suicide is categorically a less acceptable tactic as it is not culturally entrenched in
the service. The enlistment of personnel in the PN is anchored on remuneration
other than an established code like Chivalry and Bushido. Moreover, to augment the
scarcity in modern equipage and the meager capability of the PN, it is necessary to
promote the principle of ultimate sacrifice among its personnel for it to become
culturally entrenched in the future.

Conclusion

3 Mckay, B (2008). The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of a Samurai. Retrieved from
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-bushido-code-the-eight-virtues-of-the-samurai/
4 Mackenzie, L. (2018). The Knight's Code: What Does Chivalry Mean? History Hit. Retrieved from
https://www.historyhit.com/the-knights-code-what-does-chivalry-really-mean/
 In conclusion Kamikaze tactics have been categorically effective in the
seizure of Japanese military objectives during WWII. Moreover, the writer believes
that it is an impractical option if one must opt to continue fighting a sustained battle
given that dead pilots and destroyed aircraft cannot be easily replaced. On the other
hand, the writer deems that the culture of death will not be generally acceptable to
the PN personnel as it is not founded on any cultural code or system. Nevertheless,
it is necessary to promote the ultimate sacrifice to the PN personnel to foster
combat motivation and complement the current state of the PN’s capability. This will
serve as an embarkation point to establish a similar culturally entrenched code for
the PN.